Leather Wall Treatment

Process

• Many interior decorators and professional painters know how to create a leather treatment on the walls. Amateur painters or homeowners with little experience can create a leather effect on the wall with some practice. Some purchase a piece of scrap wood and try a specific method on it before attempting the method on their walls. There are several methods, some of which are easier to execute than others.

Paper Bag Effect

• The paper bag effect is perhaps the easiest leather wall treatment for beginners. Homeowners gather brown paper bags that are the same color and apply them to the wall to create a faux leather wall treatment. Rip the paper into medium sized pieces that are approximately 3 or 5 inches across. Crinkle each piece of paper tightly, smooth it out again and apply it to the wall with wallpaper paste. Overlap each piece of paper to ensure that the wall does not show.

Tissue Paper Effect

• Decorators apply tissue paper to the wall and then paint over it to create a faux leather finish. Follow the above procedure with the tissue paper by tearing it, crinkling it and applying it to the wall with wallpaper paste. Do not smooth the tissue paper out; leave some wrinkles. This will make it look more like leather. When dry, mix glaze with your paint color and paint over the tissue paper.

Fabric Treatment

• Leather wall treatments are more affordable when you use fake leather fabric. Decorators purchase a large amount of fake leather fabric and soak it in liquid starch to make it easier to use, then they apply the fabric to the wall in sections, as they would wallpaper.

Ragging Effect

• Experienced decorators and painters can create a leather effect by simply using paint and a rag. They apply a base color to the walls and then another darker paint color to a rag. They wad the rag into a ball and press it against the wall. This creates a wrinkled leather treatment. This treatment is one of the most difficult for beginners to execute.